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Annoyance Theatre
The Annoyance is a Chicago based theatre & improv training center. History From ''Improvise: Scene From The Inside Out'' by Annoyance Artistic Director & Founder Mick Napier "On September 10, 1987, a group of us were sitting around a table at an Italian restaurant talking about slasher films. As the discourse pursued, we got the crazy idea of producing a blood show for Halloween, which was a few weeks away. We set our goal for the opening at October 10, exactly one month ahead to the day. In the next frantic four weeks, we pulled a show out of thin air. We created makeshift beats for the show, more or less a parody of contemporary gory horror films, learned about stage blood, and created and “perfected” our effects. Through improvisation, we honed the beats and developed the characters. Borrowing from Alfred Hitchcock, our stage blood consisted of chocolate syrup, water, and red food coloring. We created different consistencies for different effects. Some of the stage effects included a nun getting drilled in the back of the head, a bimbo getting her tongue ripped out, and a policeman having his intestines removed. With a freshly painted white set, Splatter Theatre opened on October 10th, 1987. After a chilling original song performed by a night club singer character, several deaths turning the white set blood red, a real meat puppet intermezzi, and many laughs, Splatter Theater received a standing ovation. Nobody knew at the time that we were launching The Annoyance Theatre. We were just doing a show. As a matter of fact, annoyance wasn’t the name for us yet. We called ourselves Metraform. “Metra” because we were performing a long form at a theatre on the fourth floor of a great music club called The Cabaret Metro, and “form” because we were performing other various original improv forms at another venue. It wasn’t until we formally rented a space in 1989 that we came up with The Annoyance. Metraform didn’t seem like a very compelling name for a subversive comedy theatre, so a few friends and a bottle of tequila yielded The Annoyance, but at the time just as the name of the theatre itself, with Metraform being our company name. As The Annoyance became The Annoyance, Metraform went away. Since this time, in five different locations, The Annoyance has created over 100 shows, comprised of improvisation, sketch, full-length plays, cabaret, and full-length musicals. Hundreds of people have performed in Annoyance shows, and you see many of them today on stage, in films, and on television. Our flagship show, Coed Prison Sluts, was created from improvisation. It ran for 11 years, the longest running musical in the history of Chicago. Because of the content of Coed Prison Sluts and other shows at The Annoyance, the theatre has became known for its subversive language and themes. Such titles as Manson: The Musical, Tippi: Portrait of a Virgin, and That Darned Antichrist helped fuel this notion. Shows like these were not so much born from the desire to be radical, as they were more a consequence of the invitation to do whatever you want on stage. Our work is uncensored. The only censorship is self-imposed, and the criterion of that censorship is whether or not the content fulfils the mission of the show. Under the umbrella of the same invitation to freely create on stage came The Real Live Brady Bunch, a re-enactment of Brady Bunch episodes on stage, God in a Box, an exploration of commercialism in America, He Who Says Yes, a tribute to the music of Kurt Weill, along with original Christmas Shows, improvisation, and sketch. The Annoyance has made its mark mostly from being the first improvisational theatre to devote itself to creating full-length plays and musicals from improvisation, but is always open to any type of show. The Annoyance scored a first also in Chicago for committing itself to performing multiple original shows per week. At one point, we had 13 different shows a week running. In 1999, The Annoyance branched into production and formed Annoyance Productions. In that year Annoyance Productions released their first feature film, Fatty Drives the Bus, through Troma Pictures, on video. Currently, The Annoyance strikes a balance between live performance and production with continuous projects on the slate for both. Along with the creation of shows, The Annoyance has provided training in improvisation since 1989. As our approach to improvisation has evolved, we are able to provide a healthy alternative in the study of improvisation. Highly individual attention has become The Annoyance trademark, with students leaving our program with a better sense of themselves on stage, and strong tools to navigate through an improv scene. Although The Annoyance has respect for long-form and games, we focus our training on the scene itself, and the individuals that make up the scene. Like our creations on stage, The Annoyance training program is uncensored and void of traditional improv rules, providing a free and encourging environment to improvise in. The Annoyance ensemble has changed over the years, but they have and continue to be the funnest, funniest, and finest people I have ever met." Classes The Annoyance offers classes in both scenic improvisation and writing. Improv AP1 covers: * Scene initiation * Environment * Object work * Beginning character development AP2 covers scenic relationships to: * Environment * Other characters * Self * Character development AP3 covers: * Scenic Development * Scenic Elements * Styles * Individual feedback/goals AP4 covers: * Intensive individual feedback * Performance goals * Identifying and breaking patterns/habits * Multiple person scenes AP5 covers: * Intensive Individual Feedback * Scene work for a single class performance at the end of the class * Ensemble Development * Performance Feedback Writing Writing One: Focuses on comedic theory, idea generation (including the use of improvisation), the basics of writing for performance (dialogue, characters, scenic formatting and structure) as well as an introduction to the tenets of live performance. Emphasis is placed on understanding the mechanics of theatrical scenes, character development and the student's practical creative process. Writing Two: Builds on Writing One with an increased focus on the individual student: writing for yourself and performing your own work. Students will develop their own characters and material, as well as begin to work collaboratively on joint projects. Additional emphasis is placed on the ability to revise material, as well as staging material they have created. ' Writing Three:' Is the construction of a show. Students are led by a teacher/director through the process of creating ideas, developing written scenes, rehearsing, and ultimately performing a show at the Annoyance Theatre. Students work individually and collaboratively to generate, hone and produce scenes and short plays; culminating with their live performance in front of an audience. About Our Training "Annoyance's improv training is guided by our Artistic Director, Mick Napier. Our classes focus on scenic improvisation, that is, we don't teach performance games, rules of improvisation, or performance styles such as "The Harold". Through scenework, classes focus on the beginning, or initiation of a scene; developing and maintaining strong characters; learning to hold on to your initial choices while at the same time, expanding on (heightening) the choices you have made; and learning to become deft at creating and weaving unexpected, character-based choices into your work. We are known for giving specific, individualized feedback to our students. We maintain small class sizes, and all of our teachers are ensemble members who have learned and performed with Annoyance, and thus have first hand experience with the way we approach improvisation at Annoyance." (Source) Contact Info * Address: 4830 N. Broadway Chicago, IL 60640 * Box Office: 773.561.4665 * Class Info: 773.561.4664 * Website: http://www.TheAnnoyance.com Category:Theatres Category:Chicago Category:Improv Schools Category:All